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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22722973">Be My Valentine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirewalker/pseuds/shirewalker'>shirewalker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Reunions, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, anti mal, nikolina week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:07:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,570</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22722973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirewalker/pseuds/shirewalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alina finds her old friend, and secret crush, Nikolai at a romantic getaway she should have taken with her ex. Nikolai wastes no time in making her feel better. And reawakening certain... feelings.</p><p>--</p><p>For Nikolina Appreciation Week 2020 that I'm holding on tumblr :3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nikolai Lantsov/Alina Starkov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Be My Valentine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Well, this was officially the worst Valentine’s Day in all of the recorded history. At least, as far as Alina was concerned.</p><p>She stabbed the heart shaped waffle and fought back yet another onslaught of tears, wondering why the hell she’d still come to this place when the reason to come in the first place was no more.</p><p>“Bastard!” She hissed at no one, remembering with some satisfaction the look of shock in Mal’s face when she’d thrown the dirty mop water at his face just a few hours before coming here. “Served him right.”</p><p>“Whoever it was, to earn that look on your face…” A voice spoke from above, followed by a whistle, both of which Alina recognized in a blink.</p><p>She looked up, mouth parted in a wide O.</p><p>A smile. One she knew oh so well. “I know I wouldn’t want to be the object of your anger, sunshine.”</p><p>“Nikolai…!” She gasped. The next moment her chair was on the floor and her arms were winding tight around his neck. Nikolai. Her best friend. Her secret crush. Well… former. Former best friend. Former secret crush. Who knew what he thought of her now?</p><p>Scolding herself for her hasty reaction, Alina let him go and awkwardly picked up her chair. She looked everywhere but Nikolai, not wanting to see the look on his face. Sure, he’d smiled. But…</p><p>“Do I have a huge, disgusting pimple on my face?” He asked, humour lacing his words.</p><p>She frowned and shook her head, “What? No!”</p><p>“Then why are you so diligent in not looking at me, sunshine?” His voice softened, “I missed you.”</p><p>She pressed her eyes shut and half-shrugged, half-nodded, “I missed you too, Nikolai.”</p><p>He touched her cheek briefly, forcing her to finally open her eyes and face the music. Saints, his eyes were still that shocking storm of green and caramels. Hazel wasn’t enough to describe them. No. They were magnificent and calling them just hazel was downright rude.</p><p>And that smile… It still took her breath away. “So,” He started, a corner of his mouth tilting up, “How have you been? And why are you in this romantic getaway but all alone?”</p><p>Alina slumped into her chair with a sigh, “Because I wasn’t going to waste a perfectly good trip. One I paid in full.”</p><p>Nikolai sat in front of her. He laced his fingers under his chin and arched an inquiring eyebrow, “And why would it be wasted…?”</p><p>She swallowed down the bile and anger that bubbled up with that question. Then, remembering she was in the restaurant of the inn – a public place – she hissed, “I wanted to have a romantic Valentine’s getaway with Mal, so I got this to surprise him. Funny thing, he had a surprise for me too. And not a good one.” She stabbed her waffle again and wished for blini all of a sudden. “Imagine my utter surprise and disgust when I go to his workplace to show him the tickets and find his face stuffed between his co-worker’s legs. Oh, and she was calling him all sorts of dirty names and asking him to do all those things he did so well. So, not a one-time thing. Not that there would be any reasonable explanation for him to have his face between her legs!” The waffle flew out of her plate, startling Alina back into reality.</p><p>She looked up to Nikolai, expecting anything but the mix of revolt, anger and pity in his eyes. No, not pity. More like… Like he wished he could have spared her this.</p><p>Nikolai picked up the ruined waffle and waved in a waiter. He ordered them a plate of blini and hot chocolate. Then he looked back at Alina and sighed, his jaw tense. “I’m so sorry, Alina. No one deserves that, especially you.” He grabbed a napkin and started to press it into shapes, “I knew he wasn’t worthy of you, always so angry at your spending time with friends… Always so… So possessive of your decisions. But you loved him. And you were so happy to find him again after so long.” He sighed and curled and uncurled his fists, “But I never expected him to hurt you like this. Saints… I want to cave his face in.”</p><p>Alina blinked at the casual way he’d uttered such a violent suggestion. But she found she didn’t mind the idea. Not at all.</p><p>She drank some water and flashed a watery smile, “I know. I guess I was… Blind.” She shook her head. She certainly had been blind. And scared. Oh, what a coward. Instead of acting up on her budding feelings for Nikolai, she’d ran back into Mal’s arms just because he’d said he’d always loved her. Hah! What a lie. And how easily she’d fallen into it.</p><p>“Don’t blame yourself, sunshine. You’d always wondered what could have been.” He paused while their food was settled, only speaking again when the waiter was gone. “So, I take it you came here out of anger. Not wanting to throw away the cash?”</p><p>“I hoped I could forget all about it. About him, about the time I wasted with him…” She took a bite out of her blini and groaned, “But this place is stuffed with happy couples. It’s a bit hard to pretend otherwise. I can’t even…” She held her tongue, face growing hot with embarrassment.</p><p>But Nikolai wasn’t about to let it go, “Can’t what?”</p><p>She mumbled her reply into her mug.</p><p>Nikolai leaned in, hazel eyes shining with mirth, “Say that again?”</p><p>There was no point in denying it. He knew she’d said something juicy and wasn’t going to let go. She sighed and uttered the words, “Can’t even hook up to get back at him.”</p><p>Nikolai chuckled, “Because… couples?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Well, would it be your only reason for hooking up with someone?” He asked, as casual as asking about the weather.</p><p>Alina shrugged, “Well, it was my first reason. But I guess I want to feel… Free again. Put it behind me. Feel good. He wasn’t… Well, let’s say that co-worker was definitely playing his ego.”</p><p>Nikolai snorted. He needed thirty seconds before composing himself and flashing the most mischievous grin he had, “Oh sunshine. Don’t ever change.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They spent the next few hours catching up, a mix of regret and relief flooding Alina’s mind as she realised she’d missed Nikolai far more than she had thought. How had they drifted apart so easily?</p><p>Had she been so in love with the idea of being with Mal that she’d forgotten herself?</p><p>“Mum hates it, of course.” Nikolai chuckled, his hazel eyes like embers in the firelight, “She thinks I’m a fool for avoiding those balls. As if attending parties will help me become the heir she needs.” He shook his head and put away an empty glass.</p><p>“She seems to be under the impression you’re royalty, huh?” Alina joked, watching the way Nikolai’s lips stretched onto a grin he’d always reserved only for her. Saints, it sent her stomach into a series of backflips.</p><p>“You know her. So, what about you? How’s the florist shop going?”</p><p>She bit her lip and shrugged, “Not going.”</p><p>In an instant, Nikolai’s good humour slipped away, “What do you mean? I thought the shop was as good as yours.”</p><p>“The bank didn’t approve the credit and the seller got a better offer.”</p><p>Nikolai was silent for a long moment. Then, “And I wasn’t there…” It was more of a mumble to himself, she was sure of it, but she had still heard it.</p><p>“It’s fine. There’ll be another chance.” She said, trying to dispel that look of guilt that clouded Nikolai’s eyes.</p><p>“But you loved that place. I shouldn’t have been a gentleman. I should have insisted of helping you get it.”</p><p>“Then it wouldn’t be my hard won prize.” She countered, just like she had so many times before.</p><p>Nikolai chuckled, “I know. That’s why I always respected your decision. Still…”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Nikolai. It’s not like I don’t work with flowers. I just do it from my home.” A website, personalized orders and a living room always looking like a greenhouse. Well, considering Mal was out of the picture now, Alina could easily shift things around and have more space for her work.</p><p>“You shouldn’t.” He said. Then, in a flash, he was up, and offered a hand, “How about we keep business discussions to another time?”</p><p>She eyed the hand with curiosity, “Sure. What does that have to do with your hand hanging in front of my face?”</p><p>His wink overflowed with mischief, “They’re playing music over there, come on. Let’s dance.”</p><p>Dancing? With Nikolai? A sure way to fall back into that crush of hers. It was a terrible idea. Yet Alina’s hand still found its way to his own hand, and she found herself being led to a small dance floor, where Nikolai didn’t waste a second to sweep her off her feet.</p><p>Maybe there was still hope for Valentine’s Day.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Well, that was exciting.” Nikolai fake-whispered as he led her to her room. “We should do it again tomorrow.”</p><p>Alina bit her lip, keeping a bubble of laughter out of the darkened corridor, “We covered the entry with snow, Nikolai! We can’t do it again without risking getting kicked out.”</p><p>“But making snow angels at midnight is so fun!”</p><p>“If you’re the one covering the other person with snow.” She bit back, though her bite was harmless as she couldn’t keep a grin off her face.</p><p>“I had to chill you a bit, you were looking so flushed I worried for your health!”</p><p>And just on cue, Alina’s blush turned ten shades darker. “Shut up.” She hissed, hoping he didn’t notice how red her face was.</p><p>But Nikolai wouldn’t be Nikolai if his keen eye didn’t catch it.</p><p>He braced a hand on the door, right next to her head and leaned in until their noses almost touched, “Why? Am I… Closing in on something?”</p><p>His closeness was too much. It made her remember all sorts of feelings she had and didn’t act on. It made her heart skip several beats only to then race to catch them. It made her stomach flutter like a million butterflies had burst to life in there. It made her wonder if he’d follow her through the door threshold.</p><p>She scoffed, or tried to, and looked away, “Like what?”</p><p>A corner of his lips curled up, “Like how badly I want to kiss you.”</p><p>What?</p><p>Alina gaped like a fish at him, blinking fast and wondering if pinching herself would be too much at this moment. “Did you…?” She rasped, her heart beating faster than it could beat. It wasn’t natural to beat this fast. Surely she was going to faint any moment now.</p><p>Nikolai let out a breathy chuckle, his hot breath teasing her further into cardiac arrest. “I did, sunshine.” He reached up with his other hand to play with a lock of her hair, “I have been dying to kiss you for so long, I no longer remember when it started. I do remember when I realised it was too late to make any move, though…” He added with a softer, sadder tone. “He was back and you needed to know.”</p><p>Just like that, Alina’s stomach fell flat on the floor. She looked down, her violent blush freezing in a second. “You really know how to woo a girl, huh?”</p><p>“I’m just being honest, sunshine. I remember when you dumped a freshly made pie on my head after you found out who I really was. Never again.” He chuckled, “Plus, I love that look on your face when I give you nothing but honesty. Makes me want to… do things.”</p><p>And there she went again. Stomach fluttering, heart going wild, cheeks blazing.</p><p>“Are you stalling?”</p><p>He shook his head, the tip of his nose brushing hers for one aching second, “Just making sure I read the signs right.”</p><p>“Oh?” She uttered, realising she had a hand grasping the lapel of his coat, “What signs?”</p><p>He hummed and leaned down to brush a kiss on her throat, right where her heart was beating so loud, “That you are thinking of me and me alone. That you’re no longer looking for ways to get over… him.” He let out that last word with such venom and offense on her behalf, Alina found herself actually turned on.</p><p>“I… I really…” she cleared her throat and pulled him closer, “My head is full of you, Nikolai.” She winced, “That came out wrong…”</p><p>His laugher startled her for a moment, before his mouth was kissing her neck again, “Sunshine, you are… brilliant.”</p><p>She started to moan, the sound far too loud for a dark corridor in the middle of the night, “Nikolai… Please…”</p><p>His hum reverberated throughout her body, igniting her blood in a flash, “I want to take my time with you, Alina. My sunshine…” He looked up, pure adoration and longing in his eyes, “I want to enjoy every second we get together. All of it.”</p><p>“Me too.” She said in a breathy voice.</p><p>Nikolai leaned in and smiled against her neck, proceeding to slowly kiss every bit of skin he could kiss. He made a slow trek up her neck, along her jaw and down the other side of her neck, earning sweet moans out of Alina’s mouth to the point she was close to begging for his lips on hers.</p><p>The breaking point was so close, Alina’s legs were ready to give out on her.</p><p>And that’s when Nikolai cupped her face between his hands and offered her the most beautiful smile he had to offer her, “Saints, sunshine… I love you so much. Being apart was… too much. Too much…” And then… at last…</p><p>He kissed her.</p><p>And it was…</p><p>It was…</p><p>Far better than anything she’d ever dreamed of.</p><p>It was a kiss with magic. It was so…! The kind of kiss she was sure was what people meant with true love’s kiss in fairy tales. It made her fly. It made her glow. It made her so happy…!</p><p>And then, it was over far too soon. Despite the fact that her lips were swollen from kissing so hard. Despite the fact that her lungs had been burning for air. Despite the fact that she now knew every detail of Nikolai’s lips.</p><p>It was too short.</p><p>“Wait…” She started, only to be stopped by a quick peck on the lips.</p><p>“Tomorrow, sunshine. I… Trust me, I too want to kiss you until I can’t breathe, but… I want to take our time. And, well… Tomorrow…” He chuckled, “Or I suppose today in a few hours… We can continue this, yes?”</p><p>“I guess…” She let out, still holding onto his coat.</p><p>“Well,” Nikolai started, opening the door to her room with a drunk smile on his face, “Happy Valentine’s Day, sunshine. I look forward to making it a memorable one…” Then he kissed her again and was off to his room, leaving Alina behind and fashioning the stupidest grin on her face.</p><p>“Me too…” She let out with a sigh, slipping into her room with a thousand ideas of things to do with Nikolai.</p><p>This Valentine’s Day was officially the best in recorded history. And it was only beginning.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>during the day these two had a heck ton more of kisses and giggles and touching times. also, sexy times hehe ;D</p><p>visit my tumblr for more info on the appreciation week :D It started today :D</p><p> </p><p>comments/fangirling is the best vday content I could ask for &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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